


He Loves Me Not

by strangerphans



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst and Feels, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Flowers, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hanahaki Disease, Hospitals, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk is a good friend, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Langst, M/M, Romangst, Roses, SHEITH - Freeform, Shay - Freeform, Shiro - Freeform, Takashi Shirogane - Freeform, Voltron, Vomiting, boy/boy, carnations, flowers in lungs, i'm doing this in school and i'm praying my RE teacher doesnt notice, keith - Freeform, keith kogane - Freeform, klance, klangst, lance - Freeform, my dad came up with that omg, pining lance, she'd be so concerned, throwing up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-11-09 08:34:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 6,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11100873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangerphans/pseuds/strangerphans
Summary: The Hanahaki Disease is deadly. When someone falls in love for another but their feelings are not returned, beautiful flowers begin to blossom in their lungs. The patient has only six weeks for their love to be returned before the flowers clog up the windpipe and they die.Keith has always been in Lance's life. They weren't friends, they were just always in each other's space. They went to the same school as kids and somehow even applied for the same University. But there was nothing major about them.Except for the fact that flowers are blooming in Lance's lungs for Keith.(I did not create the Hanahaki Disease. Credit to the original creator. Trigger Warning for throwing up)





	1. Chapter 1

He Loves Me Not will be published on the 7th of June. 

It will also be available on wattpad. My username there is strangerphans. 

My main instagram is @/punkylester so if you want to chat, hit me up there. 

See you on Wednesday :) 


	2. Chapter 2

Lance has always had a little crush on Keith Kogane. I mean, who hasn't? Any old fool can see that he's gorgeous.

Lance often finds himself scowling at all the lovesick puppies who confess to Keith only after knowing him for a week. They don't know him, unlike they think. Lance knows him, he's known him since forever. 

Lance and Keith went to the same primary school together. Lance remembers how Keith would never raise his hand to answer questions, unlike himself who always yelled 'pick me, I know the answer!' at the top of his lungs. That always resulted in getting sent out of the room for a few minutes but that doesn't really matter. 

Then they went to the same high school. Lance and Keith never once talked to each other or tried to become friends but they both recognised that the other was there. During this time, Keith's love for the sciences really began to show. His favourites were biology and physics and through them, he met Pidge Holt- a firm believer in cryptids. After he met Pidge, Keith started growing that mullet Lance hates so much. 

When high school was over, Lance was positive he would never see Keith again. Nearly everyone in their year were going to different universities and colleges. Lance had been accepted into a good university with his best friend Hunk Garret but they didn't know of anyone else who would be heading there too. Much to their surprise, they found Keith and Pidge sitting in the common room at the start of the year. 

Pidge was friends with Hunk since they were both doing a course in engineering and they told him that Keith was studying Cryptozoology and he now had a boyfriend. Apparently they were mad about each other. Lance's heart sank when he heard this. His name is Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro, and he's a massive heartthrob. 

Lance only really started falling for Keith after Pidge told him of the relationship. Before that it was just 'Oh yeah, Keith's kind of cute' but now it's full on 'I want to kiss Keith Kogane until we're both struggling to breathe'.

The flowers also started appearing after Lance learned that Keith loved Shiro. Soft white Roses and delicate red carnations. 

It was Hanahaki Disease.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update tonight woooo.

Hanahaki Disease is a beautiful but dangerous thing. If someone falls in love with another and their feelings aren't returned, flowers will begin to grow in their lungs. They'll begin to cough up the petals and sometimes even whole flowers.

There are only two ways to cure Hanahaki Disease. One- to have the feels returned. The flowers will stop growing and over time they will disintegrate. This is the hardest way for it to be cured but it does work. Two- to have the flowers in your lungs surgically removed. However, when the flowers are removed, the romantic feelings will also die. Most people opt for this even though it's expensive. 

If the disease is left untreated, it's fatal. The petals and flowers clog up the throat until the victim can't breath. It takes around six months for this to happen.

Everyone with Hanahaki Disease has different flowers pooling in their lungs. For Lance, he has Carnations and Roses. He would like them if he didn't have to cough them up every hour.


	4. Chapter Three

Whenever Hunk and Lance don't have anything planned for the weekend, they always end up roaming the local Waterstones. They visit it so much, Hunk is starting to get friendly with the café barista, Shay. The bookshop has nice aura to it and even someone who isn't a huge bookworm like Lance would enjoy a trip there. 

"I'm going to say hi to Shay, I'll be back in a second." Hunk says before confidently striding over to the cafe counter. Lance watches as he brightly smiles at her and conversation is immediately started. He sighs and wishes he could be like that with Keith.

As if on cue, his throat begins to feel a little funny. Lance groans internally and goes off to find a more secluded area. As the tickling sensation in his throat becomes stronger, his pace quickens until he's in the back corner of the science section. Lance presses an arm against a bookshelf for support as he coughs as quietly as possible. He hopes no one will see or hear him. 

As he coughs, white flower petals fall and land on the tip of his black converses. When the episode stops, there's a dozen or so petals by his feet. Lance scowls and bends down to pick them up.

"Stupid Hanahaki, I swear it only happens in public." He grumbles and desperately tries to scoop up the petals. He shoves them into his hoodie pockets and before he can get up, two pairs of feet come into his view. A pair of black combat boots and a fancier pair. His eyes scan the two bodies and his heart sinks when he sees their faces. It's Keith and Shiro. 

Shiro has his arm wrapped around Keith's shoulder. The younger one has a stack of books in his arms and his wild, black hair looks fluffier than usual. Keith's violet eyes are boring right into Lance's.

"Lance? Why are you on the ground?" He asks, sounding unimpressed. Lance immediately scrambles to his feet and dusts off his jeans. 

"Oh, hi! Yeah, I was just looking for...for...this book!" He exclaims and snatches a book from the nearest shelf. Shiro's eyes narrow in suspicion and he tightens his grip on his boyfriend.

"Well, I've found it now so I'll just be going. See you around." Lance shoots the two a quick salute and backs away. When he feels like they can't see him anymore, he darts to the café. 

One half of Lance is screaming with joy. He's never had such a long conversation with Keith in his life. A tiny bit of him hopes that Keith will miraculously realise that he's been in love with Lance this whole time and his Hanahaki will be cured. The other half of him is breaking into tiny pieces. Keith had been with Shiro, his boyfriend. Stupid, perfect Shiro! And Keith looked so comfortable and content being by his side. His shoulders weren't tensed and hunched like usual and his violet eyes were brighter that Lance had ever seen them. It makes him feel so defeated.

"Oh, hey Lance. There you are." Hunk says with a smile as he approached the café till. Shay, a tall and broad girl, is there too and she's grinning from ear to ear at Hunk. Any one could tell that they like each other. Lance leans on the counter and gives them both a lopsided grin.

"Hey, guys." He says. Hunk notes that his eyes are dimmer than usual, a sign that he's upset about something. He'll have to ask him about it later. 

"Hi Lance, how are you?" Shay asks politely. 

"Eh, I'm okay. Uni's pretty life-draining at the moment but I'll survive." He jokes halfheartedly. Shay brushes her short, chestnut brown hair behind her shoulder before reaching out to Lance. She slowly brushes a rose petal off of his hoodie and shakes her head. Lance silently curses to himself- he hadn't spotted that one! He prays that Hunk and Shay don't suspect anything of it.

"You had a petal on you. Did you walk under a blossom tree to before you came here?" She asks with a chuckle. Lance brushes off his hoodie some more, just in case, and nods. 

"Yeah, we must have done." He lies. Hunk's eyes narrow in suspicion, he doesn't recall walking under any trees while walking here. 

"Well, Hunk and I better head back home. We have a game of Monopoly scheduled at four and this time we're not going to loose to Nyma and Rolo again!" Lance changes the subject quickly and watches as Hunk's face lights up. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. We're going to crush them! I'll text you later." The two boys say goodbye to Shay and stride out of the Waterstones. 

Lance looks over his shoulder at the last second and sees Shiro and Keith placing an order the café. Their hands are intertwined and Keith's head is resting on the taller man's shoulder. Lance feels a familiar feeling in his throat and suddenly he's coughing into his elbow loudly. 

"Dude, are you okay?" Hunk asks worriedly as they walk. His friend nods dismissively and brings his face away from his elbow. 

Lance prays Hunk doesn't see the red Carnation blossom fall to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be in Florida for the next few days so the update times will probably be different from usual. 
> 
> School is breaking up for Summer around now so congratulations to everyone who managed to survive!

"You sure you're okay?" Hunk asks a week later from the front door of their dorm. From their tiny bathroom, Lance yells back a quick, "I'll be fine!". He hears the door close and gets back to spewing out flowers into the toilet. 

Over the past month, Lance has discovered that the Carnations only appear when his heart is completely and utterly shattered. Today is one of those days. The red flowers just won't stop coming. 

Lance is pretty sure it isn't a good idea to flush endless amounts of flowers down the toilet but he couldn't let Hunk see him just casually coughing up Carnations into his hands when he woke up so he pretended he had just ate too much last night and he had to get it out of his system. He has a feeling his friend didn't completely buy it but he didn't question it and left. 

Lance sighs and rests his head in his hands when he feels like he can finally breathe. He slowly gets to his feet and stumbles through to his and Hunk's room. His breathing heavy, he flops onto his bed and grabs his phone. Lance heads onto Instagram and is welcomed by a new post from Keith- a photo of him and his friend Pidge. He smiles and instantly feels better by just seeing him.

Keith has the best skin Lance has ever saw. There's not a single spot or mole in sight, just a few stray freckles along his nose and cheeks. His eyes are the same colour as lavender and shine brightly. The photo was taken mid-laugh so Keith's lips are curled up into a heartwarming smile that makes Lance feel a million times better. Beside Keith, is his best friend Katie Holt- better known as Pidge. They're famous around the dorms for being surprisingly good at Scrabble and hacking into people's laptops and making memes pop up every time they click on the Trackpad. They have a striking resemblance to their brother, Matt Holt. They both have the same messy ginger hair, huge round glasses and bright personality. Matt's also good friends with Shiro. 

Lance makes sure to like the post and read the caption a couple of times before scrolling down further until he's been on his phone for a good fifteen minutes or so. The tickling feeling in his throat returns and he coughs up a few rose petals. He's glad it isn't another Carnation because those things really hurt his throat. He kicks the white petals under his bed and reminds himself to put them in the bin later. For now, he's content just messing around on his phone with only Keith on his mind.

A few hours later, Hunk opens the door to his and Lance's dorm and kicks off his worn boots with a sigh. In his hands is a heap of paper and a pizza box. 

"Lance, you've got work to catch up on but I have pizza!" He yells through the thin walls as he walks into the room he shares with his friend. Hunk drops the work onto their desk and flips open the takeaway box. 

"Lance?" He asks when he realises that he hasn't gotten a reply from him. He looks up from the box and finds Lance sprawled out across his bed with his phone in hand and leg hanging off the bed. Hunk smiles softly and goes over to pull the blue quilt over him. When he does, something under the bed catches his eye. Frowning, he gets down onto his knees and peers under the bed. 

There are hundreds and hundreds of flowers. 

The next two update


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: Vomiting.

Lance is becoming desperate. He's had the Hanahaki Disease for three and a half months now. He's getting closer and closer to the sixth month- the month where most victims die. 

"Hey, Pidge was wondering if we wanted to come over and binge watch Star Wars tonight. That sound good?" Hunk suddenly pipes up. Lance's head jerks up from his phone and he nods frantically. Pidge and Keith are roommates! Keith could be there!

"Yeah, I'm up for it. When do we leave?" He asks enthusiastically. Hunk takes a moment to think before saying, "I was thinking nine." Lance looks at the time on his phone- it's only six. 

"We should just leave now. I mean, there's eight films. We're not going to have time to watch them all if we leave at nine." Lance laughs. Hunk shrugs and grabs his phone. 

"I'll ask Pidge if that's alright. Oh, we should bring those cookies I made yesterday!" Hunk begins to ramble as he texts. Lance doesn't listen though, he's too busy fantasising about all the possibilities that tonight holds. 

He imagines himself stepping into the dorm and finding Keith crying on the couch. He asks him what's wrong and he replies saying that Shiro was being really horrible to him and dumped him. Lance sees himself droop an arm around Keith's shoulder and holding him close. He comforts him until he stops crying. Keith realises that Lance is way better than Shiro and asks him out. Lance accepts and his Hanahaki is cured. 

He imagines himself sitting with his back against the couch in the dorm while watching Star Wars when suddenly he hears a loud wailing noise. Lance, Keith, Hunk and Pidge dash to the source of the noise- the kitchen- and find Keith's beloved cat stuck on the tree outside of the window. Only Hunk and Lance are tall enough to save her but Hunk is too scared. Keith begs Lance to save his cat so he opens the window and swiftly grabs her off the thin branch and dumps her on the kitchen counter. Keith grins in delight and offers Lance a kiss on the cheek as a reward. Lance accepts and his Hanahaki is cured. 

Lance is too caught up in his daydreams to notice Hunk waving his hand in front of his face. 

"Earth to Lance? Dude, snap out of it." He chuckles. Lance bolts up suddenly and scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"Sorry, I got lost in thought there." He laughs it off and suggests that he carries the plate of cookies. Hunk grins at him and thanks him. 

Pidge and Keith's dorm is in a different building from Lance and Hunk's. It's also significantly larger than their's. They have separate rooms and a living room, which Lance is really jealous of. Even their front door looks a million times better than his! 

Hunk knocks on the door and it's immediately swung open by Pidge Holt. They're rumoured to have an IQ of 150 and they're in the process of creating robots to do simple household things. At the moment, Pidge doesn't look exactly like the mad scientist they're said to be. They're dressed in a pair of baggy Star Wars pyjamas and has huge, purple bags under their tired eyes. In their right hand is a white mug with the words 'fuelled by coffee' printed onto it. 

"Glad you could make it. Are those cookies I see?" They say and a grin creeps onto their lips. Pidge invites the two boys into the dorm and they're immediately met by what Lance is sure is heaven.

The living room is shrouded in darkness, the curtains are drawn and the only source of light is the television. Fluffy blankets, cushions and pillows are meshed together to create a warm birdlike nest on the ground. Plates of biscuits and glasses of fizzy drinks have been settled on the coffee table. Best of all, Keith is sitting on the couch in navy blue hoodie and a pair of shorts. His head is stuck in a book but Lance can still see his violet eyes gleaming as bright as ever. 

"Keith, Hunk and Lance are here. Mind making more coffee? I'm all out." Pidge asks hopefully. Keith grumbles moodily but gets up and goes to their kitchen. On the way, he grabs Pidge's mug and glances at their visitors. Keith locks eyes with the Lance, who swears it's the best millisecond of his life. 

The three sit down in the nest of pillows and Lance slides to plate of cookies onto the coffee table. Pidge slides the disc for the first film into the DVD player just as Keith comes back in. Lance watches as he gives Pidge their coffee and grabs one of Hunk's cookies. He bites into it and his shoulders sag happily. 

"Hunk, did you make these? They're good." He says. Hunk nods his head but then sees how Lance's eyes darken sadly and he looks away from him. 

"Lance helped too!" He blurts out suddenly, making Lance perk up. "Yeah, we both made them." Lance flashes him a smile and waits for Keith's reaction. 

"Oh, nice." He mutters before slumping back down into his spot on the couch. His reaction wasn't exactly the same as with Hunk but Lance still smiles. 

The movie begins but Lance can't focus on it. He's thinking about Keith. Also his Hanahaki, but mostly Keith. Occasionally, Lance's eyes will flicker over to him and see how engrossed he is in the film. The light from the screen makes his violet eyes light up and turn royal purple. His gross mullet is tied into a tiny ponytail and his pale arms are wrapped protectively around his legs. Keith looks so precious and small- Lance wishes he could just envelope him in a hug and never let him go. 

Fast forward a couple of hours and a few films later, and it's already twelve o'clock. Lance feels like his bones have stiffened from sitting for so long. 

"Ugh, I feel like I'm going to throw up from all the food I ate." Pidge groans as they stuff another slice of cold pizza into their mouth. Hunk stands up and peers out behind the window. 

"Lance, it's raining." He informs his friend. Lance sighs. Neither of them had brought jackets. Pidge comes to the rescue. 

"You guys can stay over if you want." They offer. Both Hunk and Lance sigh in relief and thank them. 

"Keith, are you heading over to Shiro's?" Pidge asks. Keith, who hasn't moved from his spot on the couch, scowls and shakes his head. 

"I wish." He mutters. Pidge takes a moment to think before announcing, "Hunk, you wanna room with me? I can show you the prototype of my robot." Hunk grins. 

"Sounds good!" He agrees. Lance's dark blue eyes trail towards Keith. 

"That means, Lance, you're with Keith. That okay?" Lance nods immediately and Keith does the same with hesitance. He stands up, brushes off his clothes and begins to walk towards a doorway. Lance follows suit, trying not to let his excitement show. The two boys walk down a short hallway and stop in front of the door on the left wall. 

"Sorry about the mess." Keith mutters before he turns the doorknob and reveals his room. Lance's eyes fall upon millions of posters of bands that broke up years ago, photographs of a desert and even a large print of the Periodic Table. The carpeted floor is covered in clothes, coffee mugs and other miscellaneous items. The desk in the very far right is covered in messy blueprints and there's a bulky laptop open on a news article. Keith's closed curtains are decorated with the NASA logo and his bed in the very centre of the messy room is unmade and covered with books and open notebooks. The only tidy thing in the room seems to be the large cat basket underneath his desk, where a ginger cat is dozing. 

"'S okay." Lance says and scratches the back of his neck. He bounces on the balls of his feet and watches as Keith clears his bed of books. "So, where will I be sleeping?" 

"If you don't mind, we can share the bed. I don't think you fancy sleeping on the floor." Keith replies and pulls off his hoodie and silently climbs into bed. Quickly, Lance peels off his socks and settles down under the grey duvet. The mattress isn't as hard as his own but it's still pretty uncomfortable to lay on. 

Lance isn't sure what to do next. Should be spark up a conversation? Keith doesn't seem to be in a good mood- he's practically hanging off the other side of the bed. Lance turns on his side to face the other boy. He may as well try. 

"So, are you enjoying school?" He starts with a simple question. Keith turns over to face him and Lance smiles in a friendly manner. Keith doesn't smile back. 

"I appreciate that you're trying to be nice but I'm tired. I've gone two days without sleep." He grumbles moodily. Lance stops smiling but he nods his head against a pillow. 

"I understand." He whispers. Keith must sense the hurt in his voice because he quickly adds, "We can talk over breakfast if you'd like. I make some pretty mean pancakes." 

"Sounds good." Lance chuckles quietly before whispering a quick 'goodnight' and turning his back to Keith. 

Keith falls asleep not too long after they stop talking and Lance almost does, too, until he hears the mattress squeak loudly. Lance's eyes flicker open lazily and he turns on his side to face Keith. The raven haired boy is still asleep but he looks disturbed and unsettled. He twists and turns on the mattress until he winds up right next to a very startled Lance. Keith reaches out in his sleep and flings an arm over Lance's chest. He balls his hand into a fist as he clutches the other boy's t-shirt. 

"Mm, Takashi..." Keith mutters quietly. Lance frowns and begins to wonder who Takashi is until it hits him like a colossal wrecking ball. 

Shiro's first name is Takashi. Keith is calling for Shiro. 

Lance's wide eyes begin to water as he feels something rise in his throat. Not just a few petals, but a whole flower head. He desperately tries to push it down his throat but he can feel the tickling sensation become stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, Keith is still unconscious. He's draped his leg over Lance's waist and has stopped writhing. His head is contently rested on Lance's shoulder. His breath tickles the Cuban boy's neck. 

Lance stares down at Keith and for a moment he can't feel the sharp pain. Experimentally, he runs his hand through his long, black hair and watches as he smiles sleepily. 

"You know 'm really in love with you..." Keith mutters, making Lance smile even though it isn't directed towards him. He whispers a quiet 'yeah' and closes his eyes peacefully. 

"Love you, Shiro." Keith yawns. Lance's eyes snap back open and the lump in his throat returns. He whimpers as he tries to push the flowerhead back down his oesophagus. It's hopeless, though. 

Lance jerks up, takes one last look at Keith's blurred features through his tear filled eyes and bolts. He scoops up his socks on his way out and wobbles through the dorm with a hand over his mouth. Lance knows he's making an awful lot of noise but he needs to get out. 

Luckily, the the front door is unlocked and Lance slams it after him. It's pouring outside so the droplets mix in with his tears. He races down the down the corridor and down the stairs to the bottom floor of the building. Shakily, he pushes open the door and immediately collapses against the ground. He dry heaves for a few minutes before coughing up a large carnation head. Unlike before, it's mixed with blood and vomit. 

Lance takes a moment to breathe and rests his spinning head in his hands. The peace is short lived because soon he's stumbling over to a bush and throwing up. No flowers, just vomit. 

"Lance?" The Cuban boy freezes in his tracks and slowly turns in the direction of the voice. 

Standing by the door, his eyes wide in terror, is Hunk. In his hands is his phone.

"911, what's your emergency?" 

Lance cries while Hunk speaks on the phone. He sobs his heart out because he knows it's the end. He knows he'll be forced to have the flowers and his feelings for Keith removed. 

When Hunk hangs up he crouches down to Lance and looks into his glassy eyes. 

"Who is it?" 

"Keith."


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update tonight woooo.

Lance is brought into the hospital kicking and screaming. Hunk stays by his side through the whole night and even in to the morning. He calls Lance's mom and listens to her wailing when she arrives at the building. 

Hunk and Mrs McClain sit in Lance's hospital room on two uncomfortable, plastic chairs, both facing Lance. The boy is sickly pale and half awake. His eyes are red and puffy from crying. 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mrs McClain asks shakily. Lance is silent for a moment before mumbling, "I though he'd fall for me."

"If you have spoken up sooner, you wouldn't have gone through all that pain. It'll be harder for them to operate since you're so far along." Lance shakes his head at this and stares at his mother. 

"I'm not getting the surgery. I don't want to forget about him." He whispers. Mrs McClain balls her fists and lets fresh tears fall down her cheeks. 

"Lance, you are not going to die. I won't allow it," She whispers, "I lost your father and I'm not going to lose you too." She leaves after that and Hunk hears her crying on the other side of the door. He takes a deep breath and shakes his head. 

He leaves the hospital room without a word.


	8. Chapter 8

Lance has been in the hospital for a whole week. He hasn't let any scans or injections happen and he won't eat the food he's given.

"I have a chance, mom! I could survive this without the surgery!" He screams every time his mother visits. She always leaves in a bad mood afterwords. Lance is giving Hunk the silent treatment- even though he knows he was just trying to be a good friend.

"Lance, c'mon, you only have one more month. If you don't let them take a look at you, they're going to have to put you under and do it." Hunk presses him, his voice shaking. Lance doesn't reply, he simply turns his head away from him with his nose in the air. Hunk leaves.

The next day when a nurse comes to check on him, Lance immediately jumps into turning down the surgery.

"I'm not here for that," She says and leans against the bed post, "You have visitors I haven't seen before. Two men your age- maybe a couple. One of them has a scar on his nose and the other has a NASA pin on his jacket, do they sound familiar to you?" Lance straightens his back and lets a small smile creep up onto his lips.

"Send them in separately, please." He requests. The nurse leaves the room.

Lance grabs his phone from the bedside table and quickly checks his face with the camera. Since he hasn't left the bed in over a week his hair is greasy and curled at the ends and skin looks paler than usual. Lance doesn't know what he expected.

"Hey." A voice from the doorway says. Lance looks up from his phone and smiles at the sight of Keith. His raven black hair is tied into a tiny ponytail and his denim jacket is adorned in small pins, one of which is the NASA logo. Keith's jeans have a few rips that weren't there when he bought them and his pair of Doc Martens are battered and worn. In his hand is a small bundle of red flowers.

Carnations.

Lance's throat tightens.

"Didn't expect to see you here." Lance chuckles. Keith rolls his eyes and settles the flowers down on the bedside table. He pulls up the plastic chair in the corner to Lance's bed and takes a seat.

"So, what's up with you?" Keith inquires bluntly. Lance snorts out a laugh.

"I'm getting my tonsils taken out, nothing major." He lies. The younger boy believes it and nods.

"We never got to have those pancakes," Keith recalls as he bounces his knee, "How about after you get out of here?" Lance grins.

"I'd like that." He agrees. Suddenly Keith's phone buzzes in his jeans and he pulls in out, muttering "pesky phone, always going off at the wrong times". He reads the notification and shakes his head.

"Look what Shiro just texted me." He says as he passes his phone to Lance.

_From - Shiro_


	9. Chapter 9

I AM SO SORRY!

If you read chapter nine last night, you'll know that it was cut off at a really strange bit. That's because when I was transferring it from wattpad to here, it was cut off at Shiro's text to Keith. That chapter from last night wasn't the full chapter and I was only made aware of this this morning (thank you for that, I'm so grateful).

I then tried to fix this and add the rest of the chapter on but there's either something wrong with A03 or I'm not good at using this website. Probably the latter, I'm still quite new here. In summary, it wouldn't allow me to add on the rest of the chapter.

To read the rest of chapter nine (which is crucial to this fic), **you'll have to read it on my wattpad account**. My username is **strangerphans** and the work has the exact same title. Chapter nine was uploaded successfully there. Again, **it's important to read this chapter**. It's a big chapter that goes deeper into the plot.

If you can't access wattpad, I'd be happy to privately send you the chapter.

Once again, I'm really sorry about this. I have no idea why it won't let me add the rest of the chapter. Hopefully it will allow me to upload chapter ten next week.

Thank you.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMINDER: If you haven't already read chapter seven, go read it on my wattpad (same username as on here) or ask me to email it to you. It's a really important chapter for the plot.

"Ready, Lance?" The nurse asks with a supportive smile. Behind her is Hunk, Lance's mother, and his doctor.

_"Don't touch me!" Keith screams, shielding his face with his hands. His breathing is frantic as he pushes himself against the wall, trying to get as far away from Shiro as possible._

"No. I don't want to forget him." Lance mumbles. He notices how his mother sighs and Hunk guiltily glances out of the window.

_"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please, Keith, let me help." Shiro pleads. He doesn't know what to do, he knows that he shouldn't have done that. He knew that Keith wasn't comfortable with that and yet he did it anyway. He slides onto the floor next to Keith and grabs his face with his shaking hands._

"You'll be fine, the surgeons here are fantastic. It'll be over and done with in an hour or so." The doctor comments quietly. It doesn't make Lance feel any better, he just sits back in the hospital bed.

_"Get back! You've done enough, Shiro, stay away from me!" Keith pulls himself away from Shiro and staggers to his feet. Using the wall for support, he goes to the coat stand and pulls on jacket. Shiro stays on the ground, lowering his head as tears fall down his cheeks._

"Tell Keith I love him." Lance whispers to Hunk as his bed is pushed into the operating theatre.

_"I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry. I didn't know, Keith, I swear." Shiro whispers. It's too late, he's gone._

-

"The operation was a success, Lance will wake up in the next half an hour."

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be the last!

"Pidge's out so we have the place to ourselves." Keith informs Lance with a joking wink. Laughing, he shakes his head and tosses his hoodie onto the back of the sofa. He offers a proud grin and stares into Keith's violet eyes. For a moment Lance is lost in them, lost in a time he doesn't remember. A time when he found those eyes so alluring and exotic. 

"Dude, are you okay?" And suddenly Lance is back standing in Keith's living room. The shorter male waves a hand in front of him with a confused look on his face. "Earth to Lance? You zoned out there." Lance takes a moment before assuring him that's he's fine.

"Now, what about those pancakes. I'm starving." He exaggerates. Keith smiles fondly and leads him to the kitchen. It's a bit squashed with the stacks of dirty plates and cutlery but there's enough space for two people to make food. Keith opens one of the top cupboards above the metal microwave and grabs two coffee mugs- one red and one blue.

"Tea or coffee?" He asks, beginning to boil the kettle.

"Coffee." Lance answers as he rests against the gray kitchen counter. Keith nods and sets to work with making his friend coffee. It doesn't take him too long, soon Lance is happily sipping from the blue mug and Keith is filling his red one with tea.

"Ew, tea is gross." Lance teases. He sticks out his tongue in disgust and Keith rolls his eyes.

"Pidge drinks six Monster energy drinks a day. Now that's disgusting." He snorts. The two of them laugh but don't make eye contact, both of them just staring at the tiled floor. The air is thick with tension once the laughter ends and neither of them can think of the right thing to say. Lance takes a deep breath and sets his mug down on the counter.

His voice hesitant, he says, "Listen, I heard about what happened between you and Shiro. I'm really sorry, I never saw him as the type of guy who would do something like that. It's funny, I used to envy him, y'know? I can't remember what of, but as soon as I heard what he did to you, all that respect went straight out the window. " Keith stiffens and his eyes darken slightly. He takes another sip of tea and breathes out.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm not too bummed about it, it's been three months, y'know? I've not quite forgiven him but I've moved on." He says with a forced smile before clapping his hands together and setting his mug down, "Now c'mon, let's get started on those pancakes."

-

Keith is panicking. There's something wrong with him- Pidge definitely drugged him before they left. Why is he smiling and chuckling so fondly whenever Lance daringly flips a pancake from the pan, even when it ends up on the floor or dripping from the ceiling? Why are his insides turning to jelly every time his eyes meet Lance's?

And most importantly, how does Lance look so gorgeous while stuffing his face with pancakes?

"Geez, Hunk has got some real competition. Seriously, these are great!" He moans as he sprays yet another mountain of whipped cream onto his fourth pancake. Quietly, Keith mutters out his thanks through the sleeve of his gray hoodie, which he is using to hide his giddy grin. They had made far too many pancakes for two people so they've been sitting on the sofa for ages, just eating and watching TV.

"I think I'm going to explode." Keith groans as he yawns. Lance's stomach seems to be endless pit because he stacks his plate with more.

"I'm actually in love. I'm marrying these pancakes. We'll have such beautiful children." He laughs as he stretches his legs out. They rest on on Keith's lap. His face heats up and he avoids eye contact. 

"Is that okay?" Lance checks unsurely. The other male nods and takes a small breath before leaning towards him. 

They sit there for a while, Keith only getting up to make more coffee and tea, until the clock's shortest hand is pointing to the number seven. Lance sighs and places his mug and plate on the coffee table. 

"I should probably get going, Hunk'll be wondering where I am." He says. Keith nods sadly and the two of them stand up. Lance puts his hoodie back on and they go to the door. 

"Thanks for today, that was the most fun I've had in a while." Lance says with a grin. Keith smiles right back at him and musters up some courage. 

"You want to do it again, then? Maybe hit the arcade or take a walk?" He proposes suddenly. The corners of Lance's lips curl up and he nods his head. 

"I'm free any time after four." He says as he opens the door. 

"Tuesday?" Keith calls out as he walks down the hall to the stairs. 

"Tuesday."

-

Tuesday becomes their day. Keith waits for Lance outside of his dorm weekly and they walk away from campus and through the city, through the dank and dirty lanes in search of an adventure. With scarves and gloves donned, they roam freely and laugh loudly. They visit bakeries, art museums and when the sun sets they take refuge in the booths of a 24 hour cafe. 

Everything is so perfect. 

But Keith still isn't satisfied.

That little crush on Lance is blossoming, it's blooming into a beautiful flower.


	12. Chapter 12

Keith stops Lance just before he climbs into a taxi after one Tuesday night. Lance is going to stay with some friends who lived off campus. They'd had a good few hours, they'd bought hot chocolate and took a walk through a park with grass that was coated in silver frost. It was cold but Keith felt so warm in Lance's presence. 

"You okay?" Lance asks, staring at Keith with his large, navy blue eyes. He takes a deep breath. No going back now. 

"I just- I just wanted to ask you something." He mutters, twisting his fingers and cracking his knuckles anxiously. Softly, Lance smiles at him and nudges him forward. 

"I was wondering- I want to know if you want these Tuesdays to become more. Like, dates. Like, boyfriend dates." Keith slowly says, not meeting Lance's eyes, "'Cause I think you're really great and I like you a lot. In a 'I want to hold your hand and kiss you' way." The sentence comes out sloppy and rushed so Keith hides behind his floppy hair in embarrassment. He hears Lance sigh softly and and place a hand on his forearm. 

"Keith, I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way." 

And suddenly the taxi is driving away and Keith is left on the sidewalk all alone. The numbness sets in.

"Oh, that's fine. I'll see you next week." Keith whispers to no one and turns on his heel to walk back to campus. But he doesn't get far. There's something in his throat, something heavy but soft. He frowns and chokes out a hearty cough. Keith feels something tickle the hands that cover his mouth.

He brings them down and stares at his palms. 

Forget Me Not flowers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. 
> 
> If you're interested in reading more of my stuff, I have an otayuri fic and phan fic out and I'll be publishing a victuuri one next week. 
> 
> Once again, thank you.


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